Clevedon Wildlife

 Though the weather has been mostly pretty gloomy this week, some definite signs of spring have arrived; for instance, this is the very first Blackthorn blossom of the year that I have seen. It was not there yesterday, so must have just opened this morning. Firstly though an appeal to any readers in North Somerset. Our council is holding a consultation about its new Green initiative strategy. Link here  http://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/my-services/libraries-leisure-open-spaces/parks-countryside/green-infrastructure-strategy For some reason it is not clear that Dowlais is included as an area to improve biodiversity or improve sustainable grassland. The questionnaire only has a few questions so I would ask that anyone with an interest in wildlife fills it in to show our passion for the area and our commitment to leaving a better environment for the next generations. It took me about 10 mins to complete and use the "what more can we do box" to put in a plea for more wader habitat at

  As I had hoped the sudden rise in temperature in this part of the world produced an increase in birds to Dowlais scrape and the adjacent shoreline. The first picture shows some of the variety that was on show with Black-headed Gulls, Shelduck, Curlew, Redshank, Dunlin and even a Teal here today. A 30 minute search also turned up both Grey and Golden Plovers, albeit just one of each Grey Plover Golden Plover In addition the regular 35 Lapwing suddenly became 163 Dunlin numbers increased, especially close inshore during the high tides and sometimes produced a blur of movement Of course its difficult to pick out any oddities among the throngs but this Knot showed up today, first on the scrape and then by the shore The following day I even caught up with the Spotted Redshank that had been reported by others. (Seen here on the left of the picture) For me, one of the exciting developments has been the increase in birders of all abilities that I bump into down there. Its especially satisfie

 It has been mostly chilly and gloomy but there have still been birds to see each morning as I walk the loop. Up to 4 Stonechats, for instance, usually along the seawall, but sometimes a pair move to the sluice, where a Cettis warbler sang on one day. Out on the scrape there are usually from 30 to 75 Lapwings roosting And these have been joined at high tide by a flock of up to 11 Shovellers, such as this male in front of the Redshanks etc. With the approach of cold Easterly air this week a few thrushes have started to appear, moving away from frozen, snow covered ground where they cannot feed. These have included increases in the numbers of Song Thrushes and Blackbirds As well as an influx of Redwings and a few Fieldfares (The latter staying out of camera range) The cold grey weather seems to have kept the sightings of birds of prey down but I did see a Peregrine briefly carrying lunch, probably a Redshank ! This morning, two female Sparrowhawks were disputing who had hunting rights ov